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With the Oregon State football team entering its second week of spring practices, BeaversEdge.com gives three burning questions heading into the week.
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1. Will a quarterback begin to emerge?
One week into spring workouts for the Oregon State and the race for the quarterback position is in full swing...
With 2020 starter Tristan Gebbia on the shelf for spring as he continues his rehab from a season-ending injury, it's a three-man QB rotation with Chance Nolan, Ben Gulbranson, & Sam Vidlak.
Each piece of the trio flashed moments of solid play during the first week, but that was largely in individual drills with limited live work and no pads. Now that the pads are on, it'll be interesting to see if one guy can rise above the group, or if we'll continue to have a neck-and-neck race through spring.
Of the three quarterbacks, Gulbranson was the most impressive during the first week as he looked the most comfortable executing the offense and limiting his mistakes. There were several times during both practices where he was able to make big-time throws and I'm very curious to see what he delivers in more live 11-on-11 work.
With Nolan, I'm expecting that we'll see the best of him this week and beyond...In the couple of practices we saw, he didn't look totally comfortable, making a few mistakes and not looking as poised as I expected him to be.
It's entirely possible he had his best day on Saturday, but I want to see Nolan play a little sharper in the two sessions this week. He's the most experienced 'healthy' quarterback and I want to see him show that amongst the rotation.
Don't count out Vidlak either as he flashed some solid potential in the first couple of practices.
He's a guy that I wouldn't doubt had a few memorable moments during Saturday's session as his playstyle usually brings exciting plays and highlight moments. He's got to get more experience, but getting thrown into the mix this early on is going to do wonders for his development.
With that all being said, it'll be interesting to see how the quarterbacks respond to being in pads and having a little bit more pressure applied to them.